New Bedford teachers gain some changes, not money

NEW BEDFORD — The city's teachers union didn't get more money, but it did win some modifications to the Parker School's turnaround plan, in what the MTA called a groundbreaking appeal.

CAROL KOZMA

NEW BEDFORD — The city's teachers union didn't get more money, but it did win some modifications to the Parker School's turnaround plan, in what the MTA called a groundbreaking appeal.

The victories are in areas including teacher planning time, technology training and resources and drawing more students to Parker's pre-K program. They came about as a result of the New Bedford Educators Association efforts.

"The Parker school appeal is the first appeal ever," at a Level 5 school under state control, said Laura Barrett, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

However, the union's wins did not extend to what Parker teachers will be paid under the plan.

Earlier this year Superintendent Pia Durkin said teachers will work 210 days a year instead of the 185 days they currently work. The school day will also be extended by 40 minutes to eight hours a day, according to the plan released by the state.

At a May 19 meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, members rejected by a 7-2 vote changes the NBEA had sought to the salary plan for Parker teachers.

With staff there required to work longer hours, the union had asked that the plan "not result in the reduction of the hourly rate of pay" for Parker teachers.

The union said that could be accomplished by increasing pay or by hiring more teachers to staff a staggered work schedule "that will result in a reasonable number of hours for each Parker teacher."

The NBEA further asked in that request that teachers' salaries not be tied to student growth scores and teacher performance ratings, as the state plan requires.

Lou St. John, president of the New Bedford Educators Association did not return two calls to his office Tuesday. When a reporter went there in person, a woman went into St. John's office and returned saying he would be tied up on the phone all afternoon.

The MTA wrote in a release after the May 19 meeting that Parker teachers "are required to work 29 percent more time," but will not receive a comparable increase in pay.

Only four teachers at the Parker School chose to reapply for their positions, Durkin has said. There are 19 teachers at Parker this year according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Durkin said between 25 and 35 people have applied to each position at Parker, and those potential hires are aware of the new compensation plan.

All told, the union proposed a dozen modifications, some with several parts, but Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesman JC Considine said in an email that not all those proposed were brought to a vote by the board.

Of the six modifications that came up for a vote, three were approved, and three were rejected, he wrote.

"Parker's Turnaround Plan is in the process of being revised, based upon the Board's decisions," Considine wrote.

The board voted 6-3 that teachers will receive "90 minutes of dedicated common planning and collaboration time per week," as opposed to "up to" 90 minutes of common planning time per week.

Another modification, approved by the board by a 5-4 vote, said that by December, officials will have reviewed Parker's technology needs to make sure the school has the necessary resources, and by June 2015 will have a written plan to upgrade the school's technology. Teachers and the principal will also receive professional development and learn how to include technology in the classroom. The modifications also included all classrooms having high speed internet.

Asked whether the state would help fund technology upgrades at Parker, DESE Media Relations Coordinator Jacqueline Reis wrote in an email, "given that we don't know yet what the school needs in terms of technology upgrades, it is too early to say whether the state would help with any costs."

The board also voted 5-4 to set time frames for the school's pre-K program. By Dec. 31, the administration should develop a strategy to attract "more Parker neighborhood students to the Pre-K program," and that by September 2016, 90 percent of those not getting "high-quality preschool services elsewhere" are enrolled at Parker.

On Tuesday, Durkin said the administration has to "figure out where our students are going for Pre-K." She said many might be going to a nearby Head Start school program. According to the DESE, this year the school has 13 pre-kindergartners.

Durkin called the turnaround plan "strong and robust."

"We are on our way and moving forward," she said.

School Committee member Jack Livramento acknowledged that "It's been a long process," but that "I think that's been an excellent procedure."

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